It's kind of startling to come across one of these blood mushrooms (Hydnellum peckii) in the woods, they look so much like they are bleeding real blood...

Coincidentally, this red 'blood' does produce a pigment that has strong anticoagulant properties in human and animal blood.

I first learned about these remarkable mushrooms several years ago, from a fellow WUnderPhotos member, Algoresister from North Bend Oregon. In her area, they 'bloomed' in October.

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Frost shards on a nasturtium. Get the photo quick before it thaws, and the plants go all brown and soggy....

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Woodland 'candy cane' of a mushroom, but 'food for the eyes' only! This Russula emetica beauty of the boreal spruce woods is true to it's name. 'Russula' means 'red' in Latin, 'emetica' means 'vomiting'.... But they are so doggone pretty.

If you must taste a tiny bit of Red Sickener, touch it only to your tongue and spit it out immediately, as it is instantly intensely irritating.

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Irresistible, almost impossible to stop, when the salmon are biting non-stop.

Couldn't help but hum 'Fishin' In The Dark' by Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.

Allison Point, looking across Valdez Arm toward Valdez, Alaska.

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Alaska's coastal temperate rainforest, filtered morning sunlight in the dense jungle along the beach at Allison Point, Valdez.

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